Step up: Our campaign for a living wage to live life

All parents want the best for their children, but the minimum wage is not enough for parents to make ends meet. The way to change this is to pay the living wage. All families should be able to afford essentials like clothes, heating, food, books and toys. We’re asking employers to give their staff the step up needed to give children across Britain a real chance in life.

The Living Wage campaign has already had notable success in Scotland. Most local authorities are now paying the living wage to their staff, and the Scottish Government and NHS have signed up too.

Our Scotland Ambassadors have produced a short video below on the progress of the Living Wage in Scotland to aid campaigners across the UK.

The video is based on interviews they conducted with two council leaders on why they started paying the living wage and the impact that it has had on their communities.

London Living Wage Campaign

Our Save the Children UK Ambassadors (aged 11 to 16 years old) are campaigning for secondary schools in the City of Westminster to pay all their staff a minimum of the Living Wage.

No matter how hard they try the minimum wage simply is not enough for some parents to make ends meet and give children the best chance in life. The living wage would mean that parents who work in London would earn at least £8.30 per hour.

We think it’s not right that some school staff who we rely on are not paid enough to make ends meet. The school couldn’t open without them and we feel they deserve to be paid the living wage in recognition for their contribution to our education.

Northern Ireland Living Wage Campaign

Our NI campaign launches in August with an exhibition hosted on the iconic Peace Bridge in Derry highlighting a history of campaigns and social change that have impacted on children’s lives. It calls on the public to support the next progressive step, our call for public bodies to pay a Living Wage.

Wales Living Wage Campaign

Our Wales campaign launched in May with a petition asking the Welsh Government to explore a living wage for workers in Wales, In June, Cardiff Council announced that it will introduce a living wage to all its workers. Cardiff is the first local authority to do this in Wales and we hope this will lead the way for the rest of the country.